Fumei Mushi
by pattie mayonnaise
Summary: A seemingly unlikely partnership is formed while researching an unknown bug species. Ino x Shino.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N**: Hello awesome possums! I finally got around to publishing Chapter 1! Some parts of this story have been sitting on my computer for a long time. This is dedicated to everyone who reviewed my other Shino/Ino fic and said they wished there had been a happier ending, as well as anyone who read it. This is for you~. I've been wanting to do a light and fluffy story featuring these two, so here it finally is. It's not going to be a long chapter story. Each chapter will be more like short snippets that steadily show the progression of the Shino/Ino relationship. I like to think of it as we're a bug flying in and out of their lives, seeing a romance grow. :) Hope you like it. Please read and review! It truly makes my day hearing from people, even just a quick note, or for constructive criticism.

Fumei mushi = Unknown insect

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><p><strong><span>Ino<span>**

He had been in her shop for too long already. It really was quite unnerving. The way he silently skulked around in the same corner like that. The way he'd pick up a flower and smell it and examine it for ten minutes, and then put it back. The way he seemed like he wasn't leaving anytime soon. He was scaring all the customers away. Hell, she was pretty creeped out herself. Worst of all, he was ruining all the bouquet arrangements and not _buying_ anything.

Seriously, who did he think he was, messing up all the careful arrangements she had taken hours to painstakingly and quite lovingly make anyway? It was her _craft_. Suddenly Aburame Shino felt the urge to become a damn flower connoisseur for a day and rearrange all the bouquets, the arrogant slimeball. She might've been able to turn a blind eye to his presence if he was willing to fork over some cash, but there he remained, seemingly money-less, wandering around and around—and around—like he had nothing better to do but be a pain in someone's ass for three hours.

Clearly, as if this statement of the obvious needed to be stated, his presence there wasn't good for business. Already the number of customers that had arrived earlier had thinned significantly as word spread around town about him being there, and the ones who decided to come anyhow stayed clear across on the other side of the store. Ino hadn't realized just how notorious the Aburames were to the townspeople before, but this was certainly evidence enough. It was a bit excessive, Ino thought, considering this was a town filled with plenty of shinobi with freaky abilities. This sort of room-clearing ability of his may have been ideal for battle, but her hypocritical nature now cursed the unintended Aburame jutsu for working so damn _well_.

One old woman who was in desperate need of a mirror judging by the way her hideous scarlet lipstick smudged off her wrinkly lips (Ino had hardly been able to look away from that spot) had even gone so far as to come up to her a half hour earlier and "whisper" (half of Konoha could've heard her) how the man in the corner partially in the shadows in the hood and sunglasses seemed mightily suspicious and gave her "a real case of the heebie-jeebies."

Ino took a deep breath and stepped out from behind the cashier counter. This was enough. She had to _do_ something. This was more than an old woman's heebie-jeebies; this was business. What if Shino stayed until closing? Her father would get angry at the lack of sales for the day and blame it on her being lazy, Nara-style. He would have none of her explanations or excuses. _Every visitor is a customer_, he would say, in that vexingly prudent tone of his when he knew he was right. And he would be right. It was the number one rule in business: you never denied someone from being a customer no matter what, lest you felt comfortable freely giving away money to your competitor face to face.

She sighed. Shino was a customer. Maybe she should cut him some slack. Sure, he was more silent and serious than a rock. Sure, he kept his face and eyes covered at all times and had a tendency to creep around wherever there was a dark corner available. But what really was so scary about him? What did she care that there were hundreds and hundreds of bugs crawling around inside of him in a frenzy with their millions of tiny, furry legs, eternally replicating, with ever-ready fangs covered in goo and saliva, desperately waiting to sink them into their next victim? She didn't care!

So long as she kept enough distance in between them.

"Buy one bouquet, get the second one half off!" What was supposed to be a pleasant chirp of a greeting came out as a sort of disturbing squeal.

He looked up but did not reply as she cleared her throat in embarrassment and tried again. "And, believe it or not, today is your lucky day because you can design your very _own_ bouquet, with up to four different kinds of flowers and purchase it with the special discount of thirty percent off!" She smiled wide.

He nodded in curt understanding and then turned away.

"It really is a good deal, really…" she said awkwardly to his back. She watched him continue to browse around in silence, tapping her foot all the while. Her initial apprehension to his appearance had waned and been replaced with impatience. His reputation was certainly not overrated. She had never met someone so damn _quiet_. So secretive. So abnormally unresponsive to her presence. She could've stripped naked right then and there and she'd bet her life savings he would not have noticed. It was actually quite infuriating.

"Do you need help?" she asked tartly, her pleasant front now completely dissipated. "Because that's what I'm here for, you know—"

"Do you do this to all your customers?" he asked finally, his quiet, deep voice etched with a tone of annoyance that rivaled hers.

"No, but I think someone who has spent nearly three hours looking around in the same part of the store and still hasn't bought anything seems suspiciously like he needs some help."

"Hn," he replied. "I do not think you would be capable of helping me with this."

Ino was more than a little offended. "_You_ don't think I'm capable? That's rich. Who are you getting flowers for? Your mother?"

Suddenly she stopped and her eyes widened. "No!" she gasped. "It's for a girl you like, isn't it? It's me. That's why you don't want me to help, you're getting flowers for _me_. Aburame, I honestly never knew—"

"I need them for some beetles."

Predictably, her scheme to make him talk worked wonders, but Ino could barely relish in her victory as her face contorted into a grimace of disgust. "Your bugs?" she began, scandalized. "All this time you were picking out flowers for your bugs?"

A pause. "That is correct."

She snickered. "What, are you asking them on a date or something?"

"No."

She waited for elaboration, and when it didn't come, "Then what are you going to do with them?"

The black lenses met her eyes, and though she could not see his, she could sense the aggravation in them. "I am going to feed the flowers to them."

"_What?_" she wailed. "You can't do that!"

"I can."

Ino pursed her lips in disapproval, shaking her head as she continued her lecture. "I can't believe you can look at flowers—at _my_ flowers, nonetheless—and see how colorful and beautiful they are, and only imagine them mercilessly eaten to the core by your ravenous filthy bugs. And without a second thought. Without regret!"

Shino furrowed his brow in thought before he carefully spoke. "I suppose that is true. If you choose to look at it that way."

"Well I do," she huffed, her arms crossed as she watched him continue to look in—once again—silence.

At last he picked up a lone flower from a bouquet, held it up and declared, "I'd like this one."

Ino widened her eyes. "Not the hydrangea," she pouted.

"You would not approve of any flower I choose. Does that mean you are not going to let me buy it? Shall I take my business elsewhere?"

She mumbled something that he couldn't quite understand, but he was positive it was safe to assume swearing was involved. "You shouldn't mumble obscenities to your customers. It is poor business etiquette."

"And what are you, the business etiquette police? You seem intent today on assuming jobs you're not qualified for," she snapped back, and her meaning went well over his head. "Come on, the cash register's right over there. You know, you're really not supposed to pick flowers out of the arrangements. Single flowers are sold separately. Get that? _Single flowers sold separately_. Next time I won't be so forgiving."

She rang up the flower and told him the price. It must have been one-millionth the profit she could have made that day had he not come. She shook her head as he obliviously handed her the money.

"Taking three hours to not even buy a bouquet," she said, sighing, as she took the money. "You're a lot more annoying than I ever imagined. It's quite surprising, actually."

He looked back at her as he took the flower. "Good day, Yamanaka Ino," he said simply, and walked out without another word.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Chapter 2 completed! A huge thank you to to everyone who's reading this. Hope you enjoy this chapter! Please read and review for any feedback you may have. :) Or just a comment, whatever you have the time for.

To the first reviewer: I couldn't respond to your review, but I hope you read this! Thank you so much. Your feedback reminded me I needed to give more info to their ages. This is taking place in the Shippuuden time frame, so they're both about 16 right now. I won't be skipping too much time in between chapters, it just won't document every single interaction they have (so it may give an impression of skipping time). I don't know if you have an account here, but PM me so I can give you a proper thank you!

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><p><span><strong>Ino<strong>

The next visit from Aburame happened a few days later, on a dreary, unbearably slow day, when the pouring, unmerciful rain and strong winds deterred customers from shopping for flowers. Ino remained dutifully sitting at her usual post at the counter, though she was bored senseless. She hoped her father would stop in to tell her due to the inclement weather he would close the shop up and she could have the rest of the day off. But she knew full well he'd never do such a thing. He was such a hard ass when it came to his shop. With her sweet tone and a bat of her eyes, she was able to finagle her way in many things with her father, but not when it involved the Yamanaka family business. She stopped trying after a while.

Most of the time, however, she didn't mind working here. Flowers were such stress relievers, and the customers were typically friendly people. It was compelling hearing their stories, some joyful ones of love or friendship, or mournful ones of sickness and loss. Both instances always had a sense of hope—flowers were a way to represent that. She was proud to be a part of so many people's lives, even in that small way.

The flower shop was usually an exciting, active place that she enjoyed, except on days like this. The only sound was the ticking of the clock on the wall and the swoosh of her constant yawns. She had already done every mundane task she could think of—it was all she did all morning—such as reorganizing the front display, replacing the water in the vases, sweeping the floor, and dusting the countertops. She even sunk so low as to re-categorize the directory of flowers for an hour—a thick, old binder passed down the Yamanaka generations that, while extremely informative, had become so disorganized no one wanted to fix it. She was of course left with nothing more to do but stare at a corner and slowly lose her mind.

Until the little bell on the door did its tiny jingle, and Ino immediately snapped out of her daze, happily turning to her customer, her savior. Shino walked in, enshrouded in his usual hooded jacket, dripping wet as his saturated garb left a puddle of water on the floor. Apparently, the bug wielder was not the least bit deterred by the onslaught of precipitation. She felt a slight sense of annoyance left over from his previous visit, but now, she'd take anyone coming into the shop to save her from this endless silence.

"Shino?" she said, surprised. She rushed over to him. "You're all wet! Why don't you take off your coat and hang it on the rack over there?"

"It is raining outside," he said, as he removed his green overcoat to reveal another thin, black coat, with a high collar.

"Yes, I know," Ino replied at his unnecessary explanation, a bit amused at seeing Shino all wet, his hair limp from the dampness. "That black jacket's soaking too, you should let it hang to dry as well. I always thought you wearing two jackets was a bit much, but I guess it comes in handy on rainy days like this, doesn't it?"

Ino hung his green coat on the rack by the door and turned back to him, finding that he still had his black jacket on.

"I do not usually remove this jacket in public," he said.

"Ok, I don't why you don't, but it's not like I'm going to force you," she replied with a shrug, walking back to sit at the counter. "But you're going to get sick like that, staying cold in a wet coat. I don't think that's going to be very beneficial to your kikaichuu, is it? Besides, it's just you and me today. Believe me when I say that _no one_ is going to show up here, with this weather. I'm actually surprised you did."

She knew he recognized the validity in her explanation, because after a moment of hesitation, he removed his black coat and hung it up on the rack as well. Ino thought he looked like a completely different person without those heavy coats on. Usually only a small slit for his eyes made his face visible. The boy didn't look half bad.

"Back for more flowers for your bugs?" she asked him.

He nodded.

"I guess I just have to accept that you're not going to stop feeding them my flowers," she whined. "Well, have at it, Aburame."

He began his silent perusing. Perhaps he wasn't the best customer to save her from her boredom, after all. He wasn't completely quiet, now that Shino's footsteps steadily made their thumpings as his boots hit the wooden-planked floor, but he did a damn good job of it.

Well, if he wasn't going to talk, she could at least entertain herself. She examined him again. This was the first time she had ever seen him without his jackets, come to think of it. They'd only had a couple of missions together years ago, so this was probably the most interaction she'd had with him for a long time. Even when they'd get the whole group of their friends together to hang out—a party at Kiba's here, a dinner at Hinata's there—he would mostly keep to himself, biding his time somewhere against the wall or outside on the patio to escape the noise and bustle of teenagers. Ino had never tried talking to him. She didn't know why he even came to hang out with the group if he didn't seem to want to be around any of them. Still, he consistently showed up.

He was clad now in a sleeveless, high-neck shirt, pants, and combat boots, all black, and his usual dark glasses. He was thinner than she expected, since she'd gotten used to seeing him in the wide coats he always wore. His damp hair was already starting to dry out, and caused it to have an effortless unruliness to it, as it stuck up from the forehead protector he tied around his head. Even though his eyes remained covered, he had a handsome face. Really, he almost looked…cool. He already had the mysterious thing down. If he always walked around looking like that and wasn't so odd and quiet, she was sure he'd have his own fan club of girls. There would be a few who wouldn't mind the bugs. Too bad he'd rather study insect habits for hours than talk to a girl for a minute.

Ino sighed loudly, her eyes fixed on Shino and her chin resting in her palm. "If only a guy spent as much time on me as you do on your bugs. Is that so much to ask for?"

She continued watching him for a while. He grew uneasy.

"Is there a reason you persist your prying examination of my whereabouts?" he asked finally.

"_Sorry. _I didn't know I wasn't allowed to lay my eyes on the grace of Aburame Shino."

"That's not what I meant," he replied seriously.

"I know. That was a _joke_." She let out another loud, exaggerated sigh. "You should learn what that is sometime. Anyways, I'll look away, if it pleases you. I don't know why you're bothered, it's not like you're naked."

"It is not necessary to be naked to feel uncomfortable from someone staring insistently at you."

She smirked. "You are a strange one, Shino. Usually guys would love a girl to stare at them."

He chose to ignore that comment, much to her chagrin. That was the problem with Shino. Usually her flirtations would garner at least some sort of reaction, but with him, it was like making out with a wall, not that she knew what it was like. There was no fun in _that._

Maybe she should step up her game a little.

She leaned forward onto her elbows, flipped her long hair over on one shoulder, and spoke in the most coquettish tone she could manage. "Do you ever think about girls, Shino?"

He looked up, and Ino could feel the feral surge of excitement that could only be built up from the presence of classic gossip-worthy material. "This flower," he said then, holding up a hydrangea bloom. "It's peculiar. Although it seemed to be a mild success with the matured beetles, it was not so with the larvae."

"Interesting," she drawled, leaning back in resignation. Shino wasn't so quiet after all, when the subject at hand was his bugs.

"The larvae are attracted to bright colors," he mused aloud, more to himself seeing as Ino was busy caring less. "I believe I need something that's more appealing, while still having a bloom full enough to satiate the hunger."

Ino stared at the ceiling. "Sounds sexual."

He frowned. "Is that what you call help?"

"Oh, _now_ you want my help?" She sat up straight, turning her head back to him, and was not surprised when he did not answer immediately.

"Fine. Yes, I would like to employ your assistance," he said at last.

"Assistance employed," she said, her voice low and formal like his. She returned to her normal tone. "I'm a flower expert, Shino, you can trust me, though I know it just kills you to not be the know-it-all this time." She winked. "They don't seem to be the typical kind of bug. Just what are they, anyway?"

"You are correct," he replied. "They are not your average beetles, but a rare species we know next to nothing about. They do not even have an official name, and I have simply referred to them as the fumei mushi," he explained. "I was fortunate to procure some eggs after a successful breeding, and I have been tending these beetles since they hatched, documenting their developmental cycles. Unfortunately, I currently must keep them secluded in closed conditions so that no harm happens to them, and I can keep all variables controlled. The larvae eat just enough of the leaves I give to them, but do not seem to be growing quite as sturdy and vibrant as the mature ones we originally found in the forest. I do not know how they originated, or how they've been surviving in the wild until now. We have begun to find dead ones now in the area they inhabit."

"Hmm, that is strange. What have you tried so far?"

"So far, any foliage I currently have in my insect sanctuary," he said. "It is a sanctuary that has existed in our Clan for generations; I did not create it. I do not know what types of plants they are, but they range from vines, trees, flowers, many types of vegetation. Typically flowers are quite popular among the insects, but the ones currently present have not been successful with these beetles."

"So you came here in hopes that you can find flowers that you don't currently have in your sanctuary? And that these mystery beetles will eat and like?"

"If flowers is even what they want in the first place," he replied, sighing. "If this fails, I must move on to another hypothesis. It is why I came here, with such horrible conditions outside. I am in a dire situation, and must find the proper sustenance these beetles require."

She raised an eyebrow. "Dire? I wouldn't say it's _dire_."

"Of course it is. They may be eating anything to survive, but they are not thriving."

"Look, Shino," she began, "you're making this flower-searching business way too complicated. I mean, you're getting flowers for your beetles. Are they really that picky? Come on."

"The issue is not that they are picky. It's that it is the least I can do for them."

"What does that even mean? They're beetles. Bugs. They die all the time. Sounds like you can just give them some leaves and they'll be good enough."

There was a pause in the conversation as Shino stared back. Ino felt the need to fill the gap. "Can you just _answer_ me?"

At that he replied. "We both call them beetles," he began, "but they are not the same thing to you."

"That doesn't make sense—"

"Then I don't expect you to understand."

There was a harshness in the address that made Ino stop short of answering back. They now watched each other in silence for a moment, before Ino spoke. "All right," she said, stepping off her stool and walking over to where he was standing to collect some flowers she had in mind. "You'll want to go with allysums. Or snapdragons. They both grow in large blooms and have a sweet nectar, so we always have to keep watch on them when they're growing because bugs love them so much. See if your beetles like one of those."

"Allysums or snapdragons," he repeated, taking the flowers from her hand. "These look like likely candidates. Thank you."

"They grow in a greater range of colors too, so you won't have to opt for only the light colors of the hydrangea. The scent is also stronger for them, so maybe they'll be more sensitive to the smell rather than the color."

He nodded. She returned to her stool.

"So how do all these beetles find a mate, huh?"

Somehow she knew the moment of tense awkwardness had passed and she felt oddly relieved by it. She didn't like the way Shino had gotten angry at her; it was different, she realized, than the way Sakura or Shikamaru did. Though they tended to have their bouts of vexation with her, she always knew her two friends would quickly forgive and forget, and it never seemed to be anything serious; for Shino, it felt as though he was trying to defend himself. She hadn't meant to insult him. Sometimes she spoke before thinking of what she was saying. For some reason, she didn't want him to be upset.

He collected more of the flowers she had suggested, counting each one considering the way he mouthed a number every so often. "It depends on the species," he answered her finally. "In some, the males may have colorful wings or impressive horns and jaws that they will show off to attract a female mate. Others may vocalize various calls or sounds, such as singing or a cadence of knocking on wooden tunnels, also to attract a female. Further, the female may emit pheromones to attract a mate, and she merely has to sit and wait for a suitor to arrive." He pulled out a snapdragon, examined it, and put it back. "Sometimes it is so effective that she will attract multiple males, and they will all fight over her."

Ino gasped excitedly. "Really? Any way to get that ability in human form?"

"No. Humans are not insects."

"Again, joke."

Shino stared at her. "I gathered as much."

"But you are impeccably correct, Aburame," she continued slyly. "Humans are not insects. To woo a woman, it's a bit more complicated than a flash of colorful wings or emitting pheromones, hm?"

"Yes. It is needlessly laborious and nonsensical."

"Do you want to know what _I_ find attractive in a man?"

"I believe you shall tell me no matter what I say, Ino."

"I like it when a man has an air of mystery to him. He's dark and brooding because he's had a rough life and all he needs is the kiss of his true love to break the barrier over his heart, which will be me, of course. He's handsome, and cool, and…what else…oh! And funny. But only in front of me, because he keeps his soft side a secret. So what is it that I said again? He is cool, rough but still nice, brooding…yet funny? Wait, that doesn't sound right…"

"It is good you are not an insect. I am sure your species would become extinct within a generation should all females share your preferences."

She smiled. "Look at that, you _do_ joke."

"On the contrary, I was being utterly sincere."

Her face contorted into an exaggerated frown, clearly an attempt to mock him. "You're so serious."

"So I've been told."

"Why is that?"

"…Just the way things are," he replied, approaching the counter with his chosen bunch of flowers, a haphazard array of random pickings that included more than the types she suggested. The boy was desperate, she figured. She didn't understand why these beetles of his were such a challenge to feed. In their back garden, it was a complete pain to keep the insects at bay from eating every last bit of the foliage, so why did these insects barely want to eat them?

"So I see you're getting a bouquet this time," she noted, pleased. "You learn fast, Aburame."

Now that he was closer, Ino noticed the slight sculpture of the muscles in his arms as he handed over the flowers. She began to wrap the bouquet up to protect them from the rain and wind outside, and he remained oblivious to the glances she snuck at him as she did so.

"By the way," she mentioned offhandedly when the bouquet was wrapped, and she tallied up what he owed her. "You should take your coats off more often."

He handed her the payment. He looked utterly perplexed by her comment. "What would be the purpose of that?"

This is why she needed to stop talking every time a thought crossed her mind. Her and her big mouth. She'd rather not let him see her blush over something so stupid. "Well, you just…you look…just do it, Shino! Geez, you ask so many damn questions."

He seemed confused but did not push the subject further. She avoided his gaze and pretended to be busy organizing something or other behind the counter, until she heard him walking towards the door. He picked up his still-damp coats hanging near the entrance, and slipped on both of his coats.

"I shall inform you of what transpires with the flowers," he announced, before turning his hood up and stepping back out into the rain.

Ino felt a little disappointed when he left.


End file.
